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"I remember my siblings calling me 'Maggot', because I used to run around the house naked when I was chubby. That's still their nickname for me.

"My mum used to tell me everything that was happening, and even to this day she always talks to me about what I went through, it's something I'm not afraid to talk about.

"I can remember running around the hospital, and my mum explaining to me why I didn't have any hair."

Katy was still living with leukemia when she started her time at Tiptree Heath Primary School. At such a young age, it was difficult for the other children to understand her situation.

"I lost all of my hair, and this meant I had to go to school without it," she said. "I just wanted to go to school as a normal girl.

"People at school would laugh at me because I had no hair but they didn't understand.

"I remember having all these fancy hats that I would wear, and I'm very precious about my hair now."

She's now 20-years-old (Image: Katy Payne)

Training to become a children's nurse

In 2003, Katy was given the all clear. After two and a half years of chemotherapy she had finally beaten cancer and she was signed off from hospital.

Now, in the final year of her Paediatric Nursing degree at Anglia Ruskin University, Katy is already working with children suffering with the same illness she fought for three long years.

"I always wanted to be a nurse," she said.

"I can remember sitting in hospital at Addenbrooke's during my treatment and telling my mum that I wanted to be a nurse. The nurses who were looking after me raised enough money to buy me a nurse's outfit to wear at the hospital.

"In 2016, I started my degree to train as a children's nurse, and I'll qualify next summer. I'm now training at Colchester Hospital - the same place I spent a lot of my time as a cancer sufferer."

The nurses with Katy at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge (Image: Katy Payne)

And the story of who she is now working alongside is remarkable.

"I'm now working with the nurses that looked after me all those years ago," she said.

"When they first saw me again they couldn't believe it was me. One of the nurses who cared for me when I was sick is Stuart Collier - I now work with him at Colchester.

"He's one of my best friends, we're talking all the time. He can remember seeing me when I was sick and my skin was yellow, and he just can't believe that I'm the same person now.

"He was part of the group that raised the money for my nurse outfit, so for me to be able to say I'm still here and now working alongside him, is incredible."

"I wanted to give something back"

Katy now runs in Cancer Research's Race for Life every year (Image: Katy Payne)

As part of her training, Katy spends a lot of time with cancer sufferers on the children's ward at Colchester General Hospital.

It brings back a lot memories from her time in hospital, but Katy uses those experiences to help the other children as much as she can.

"As an adult, when I see children who are dying of cancer all I can think about is how that almost happened to me," she said.

"When I speak to some of the children I can tell them I've been there and I think that's a massive thing. They need to feel safe.

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"I wanted to give something back to the hospital that cared for me all those years ago because without them I wouldn't be here today.

"My confidence has grown so much. I will go straight into a children's hospital next summer as a children's nurse. I want to train as an oncology specialist to do as much as I can for children suffering with cancer."

"There's nothing now that would scare me. I don't see my career stopping, I want to keep learning and growing as a children's nurse."

Katy's work with cancer isn't just confined to her training. She also does a lot of work for cancer charities to raise money for essential causes.

Katy is currently training at Colchester General Hospital's children's ward (Image: Katy Payne)

She says she's been running in Cancer Research's Race for Life for the last four or five years - the same event her mum has taken part in since Katy was a young girl.

"I do it to raise money for Cancer Research," she said.

"When I was working in a pub last year I ran with some of my colleagues and we raised over £1000, and we're not sure how much we've raised this year as it's still being counted.

"I also ran in the Relay for Life in Colchester this year, which also raises money for Cancer Research.

"The people at Colchester and Addenbrooke's saved my life, and I want to do as much as I can to say thank you to all of the people who helped me."

"I'm their little girl"

Katy with her grandad (Image: Katy Payne)

Katy is the youngest of four siblings. Her sister and two brothers watched her go through her cancer ordeal all those years ago, and it's made them appreciate her even more.

She said: "I'm their little girl.

"My eldest brother Perri is quite a bit older than me so he can remember a lot from when I was ill. He always tells me he loves me, he won't put the phone down until he's said that.

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"One of his friends at work heard him say it on the phone and they made fun of him for saying it to his little sister, but he just said 'if you'd seen your little sister almost die in hospital you would understand'.

"And my mum, she's my absolute best friend and my whole world.

"I’ll never ever be able to thank her enough for what she’s done for me."